Archive for August, 2012

6:15am Thursday —
This won’t take long. For those who were listening for the 144.252 net last night, I just read on the ON4KST.com chat archives that K8TQK “had a failed system and could not run the 144.252 net. I will be back up for next Wed.” Glad it’s nothing serious.
WB9LYH took the 144.240 net as usual and reported “Good propagation to the east. Contacts were: N9OLT EN64; VE3ZV EN93; N8WNA and VE3LPY EN82; KF8QL EN72; N9YK EN72; N9JBW and KC9RIO EN61; WB9TFH EN53; KC9CLM EN52; WA9BNZ EN40; WB0YWW EN22. Also had CW from AB0YY in EM29, Topeka, KS. I heard the weak CW and ‘YWW was able to identify the call.”

You can expect both WB9LYH (144.240 at 0100Z/8pm central) and K8TQK (144.252 at 0030Z/8:30pm eastern) to call their nets next Wed. If something changes, we’ll advise here.

REMEMBER THE ARRL SEPTEMBER VHF CONTEST IS ONLY 9 DAYS AWAY. All bands 50 and 144 MHz and on up thru 222, 432 and into the microwaves. Full details here: http://kc9bqa.com/?p=6104 Make plans to get on the air Sept. 8-9, and remind other VHF’ers.
If you have no idea how to “do” a VHF contest, my series of articles called VHF Contesting School can help. I wrote these with newer VHF’ers in mind.
Here are the links to the complete set of VHF Contesting School articles. Actually, much of the info below is helpful for general operating on the “weak-signal” portions of bands like 6m, 2m and 70cm.
These links are in order from a basic introduction, to antennas, to what bands and frequencies to use, and so on. http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1677 VHF Contesting School — Introduction.http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1689 Antennas – The Most Important Part of Your V/UHF Station.http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1700 What Bands and Frequencies to Use.http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1717 How to Log a V/UHF Contest.http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1727 Helpful Hints — Being a Smarter Operator.http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1737 Go Roving! Put the Antennas and Rigs in the Mobile.http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1740 More Detailed Rover Info.http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1750 Rules and Scoring.
You are free to share the VHF Contesting School articles with hams everywhere.

Posted in Blog Post | Comments Off on WB9LYH Has 13 Check-Ins and K8TQK was OFF Last Night

9pm Tuesday —
We’ll have our regular net controls tomorrow night.
Before I make the net announcement, want you to be aware of 2 additional items. Both are listed at the bottom of this post.

Wed. long-range net controls:
K8TQK on 144.252 (yes .252) at 0030Z, or 8:30pm eastern. Bob’s QTH is EM89je, which is south-central OH. Bob starts out calling CQ to his north, then steadily moves clockwise a full 360 over the next hour or so.
We also have WB9LYH on 144.240 at 0100Z, or 8pm central. Mark’s QTH is EN54cl, right in the middle of WI. Mark also starts out calling CQ to his north/northeast, then steadily moves clockwise a full 360 over the next hour or so.
All licensed amateurs are welcome. The nets are informal; the purpose is to stir up more activity on less-used portions of 2m SSB. Newer stations — you are welcome to listen along and say hello when you’re ready. A big part of why we run these nets is to give newcomers (and veterans) guaranteed activity, to ensure they hear signals coming out of their rig.
The rest of you are encouraged to expand on this guaranteed activity by calling some CQ’s of your own on Wed. night, or any other time. 20-40 stations listening for a net control for a few minutes per week is a good start. But think if those 20-40 stations, in different states and grid squares, would spread up and down the band, calling CQ in various directions. That’s the biggest thing weak-signal VHF needs — more signals on the air.

Both K8TQK and WB9LYH have big stations. Long (horizontally-polarized) yagis well above the horizon, with lots of gain, plus plenty of output power and great QTH’s. You don’t need all that to have fun on “weak-signal” (SSB/CW) VHF, but yes, it does help. The point is both our net controls enjoy pushing the propagation limits and they appreciate DX check-ins. Even if you’re 400, 500, 600 miles away, give a listen and see if the band is up. We encourage everyone to spread the word about activity on 2m SSB, and we thank those who have helped us.
is
ITEM #2) IF YOU HAVE TIME IN THE MORNINGS, CHECK OUT THE 144.205 MORNING GROUP. This post explains the .205 Morning Group. http://kc9bqa.com/?p=6073 VHF’ers everywhere need to know about this daily activity.

ITEM #3) ARRL SEPT. VHF CONTEST IS SEPT 8TH-9TH. ALL BANDS FROM 6M, 2M AND ON UP INTO THE MICROWAVES. MAKE TIME TO GET ON THE AIR AND IMPROVE ACTIVITY. FULL DETAILS HERE: http://kc9bqa.com/?p=6104

6:15am Thursday —
There’s a pair of 2m SSB nets on Thursday nights, plus a friendly FM simplex net to choose from.
Longest-running net is the Q5 net, called by N9JBW John from EN61, south side of Chicago. It’s on 144.220 at 7pm central. Believe they start out looking east and then go clockwise a full 360 from there. This is a friendly, active net and thru the years, N9JBW has always let others know they are welcome to stop by and check it out. The Q5 net now has a website at http://n9abf.com/q5net/ Typing www.q5net.net into my web browser got me there, also.

There’s also a net on 144.250 out of SE OH, grid square EM89ud on Thursdays at 8pm eastern. Your net controls are AB8XG Kenny (primary) and KD8DJE Russell (backup).

If you’re within 100 miles or so of La Crosse, WI, grid square EN43, remember WV9E is in the 3rd year of his 146.460 net, at 8:30pm central time, every Thursday. This net is on the simplex portion of the FM band. No offsets or P/L’s. All are welcome, and I’m sure they’d appreciate a DX-type checkin. WV9E has been very proactive about getting more (non-repeater) V/UHF activity in/near the La Crosse area. Dave also has a ham website at www.wv9e.net

Posted in Blog Post | Comments Off on Remember There’s Plenty of Activity on Thursdays

6am Thursday —
Here’s last night’s net reports.
K8TQK’s 17 check-ins to the 144.252 net @0030Z out of EM89je were: N8WNA EN82; K8MM EN83; KC8YJB, K8GDT and KD8FHY EN91; W3IP FM19; W3BFC FM18; W8WG EM89; AA4DD and K4YA EM86; AC3L/M FN00; KY4MRG EM77; WA4REE EM65; KI4ROF EM55; K9LQA EM68; K9MRI EN70 and N8DJB EN81.
Nice to see the FM19 and FM18 stations in there. Don’t see that often enough with the K8TQK net. But I admit to not knowing the effect of the Appalachians on K8TQK as he looks to his NE, E or SE.

WB9LYH had this to report with the 144.240 net @0100Z, from EN54cl: Better than average to the east. Checkins were W0VB EN34; N9OLT EN64; N8WNA and VE3LPY EN82; K8GDT EN91; K9CCL, KC9RIO and N9JBW EN61; WB9TFH EN53; WA9BNZ EN40; WB0YWW EN22; K0SIX EN35 and VE3KRP EN58. N9OLT was assisting to the east; we tried to get some idea of the relative coverage of our stations. We got a hand with K8MM with the contact with VE3LPY. W0VB had an incredible signal from (southern) MN with 17 db gain and 1500 watts. I asked him to call toward the Dakotas and he heard nothing. W0VB isn’t able to be on all the time, but I have no doubt that we could raise stations to the west if they were on, with him relaying. Lots of fun last night.

Bob and Mark, thanks for taking the nets and for the reports.

Unless you hear otherwise, expect both K8TQK and WB9LYH to be net controls next Wed.

Posted in Blog Post | Comments Off on K8TQK Has 17 Check-Ins and WB9LYH 13 Last Night

7pm Tuesday —
As mentioned at the bottom of the Aug. 17th post (last week’s net report), both our long-range net controls should be on board tomorrow night.
K8TQK kicks things off at 0030Z/8:30pm eastern with his 144.252 net. Bob is located in EM89je, south-central OH. He starts out pointing north, then goes clockwise a full 360 over the next hour or so.
WB9LYH is on at 0100Z/8pm central with his 144.240 net. Mark is located in EN54cl, middle of WI. He starts out pointing north/northeast, and also moves clockwise a full 360 over the next hour or so. If you’re in MI/VE-3/OH/IN/NY/PA, you want to be looking at EN54cl soon after 9pm eastern.
Both our net controls have strong signals. They both enjoy DX check-ins. It really makes their night when someone makes the path from 350, 400, 500 miles or farther away. I know many of you have been helping to spread the word for several years now and thanks again for the support.
Last week, our Wed. nets had the best turnout in many months. Hoping it continues tomorrow night.
Make sure to monitor the ON4KST.com ham chat, if you have internet and a computer near your rigs. We use the IARU Region 2 chat for 144-432 MHz. This is a free, no BS service that is available anytime. After more than 2 years of operation, the 144-432 MHz room is doing very well. There’s activity in there 7 mornings and 7 evenings per week, from all parts of the USA and Canada.
If you need more info about how to register, click on this link: http://kc9bqa.com/?p=1072

7am Monday —
Hope everyone had a nice weekend. We had our 29th anniversary yesterday. Had we gone away for a few nights, I could have guaranteed a whopper of a tropo opening. (Inside joke, check the archives for what’s happened around Aug 15-20th, in previous years)

Speaking of archives, those who follow along here thru the months know that on Mondays, one of the best nets in the USA is on 144.250, courtesy of N0PB in EM39, North-central MO. Been doing it for probably at least 10 years, starting at 7:45pm and going until about 9.
Phil has a great signal on 2m, and gets out a long ways. But he’s going to be quiet for at least several weeks, according to an email I received overnight. Phil’s fine; he just needs some time to get caught up with his workload. A bad drought in his part of the world has made life complicated.

Sandy and I feel very blessed that we’ve had good rains the last 4 weeks or so. Sandy’s an avid gardener and had a hose in her hands for countless hours thru June and July. Our drought ended on July 25/26th, when we had 3″ of rain. Since July 25th, I’ve measured 5.7″ of rain here, 40 miles north of Milwaukee. From Memorial Day weekend until July 25th, we had only 2.06″ of rain, plus we had so many record hot days, once we got into late June thru mid-July.
I know others to the south and southwest have had it far worse. http://water.weather.gov/precip/ That website has nothing to do with hamming. It graphically depicts radar-estimated rainfall amounts over the USA. Using the drop-down menus below the map gives you a variety of ways to show the data. When I click on “the last 90 days” option under the “1. Timeframe” tab, I see there are still many areas of IL/MO/AR/KS/IA/IN that haven’t had 4″ of rain in the last 3 months. Brutal. And much of IN has been way worse off than that 90-day map depicts, because it’s only been recently they’ve gotten good rain. Most of it has fallen too late to save crops. Sure it’s the same way in parts of IA/IL/MO.

I’ll try to remember to put up a post when I get email from N0PB that the Monday SWOT net (stands for SideWindersOnTwo, see www.swotrc.net if you want more details) is back on.

Posted in Blog Post | Comments Off on N0PB 144.250 Monday Night Net (EM39) is OFF for at least a few Weeks.

9:30am Friday —
Sorry I didn’t get this report out right away. Wasn’t around yesterday. Very pleased to see all the activity from Wed. night. Let’s get to it.
K8TQK had 25 check-ins with his 144.252 net, at 0030Z from EM89je. They were: KC8TRL EN81; K8JA, K8VFV and N8AIA EN82; K8MM EN83; KC8YJB, NF8O, K8GDT and KD8FHY EN91; K8ZES FN02; VA3VW EN93; W2UAD FN13; K9MRI EN70; W8WG, KD8DJE, N8TJC and WT8E EM89; AA4DD EM86; WA4REE EM65; KY4MRG EM77; KI4ROF EM55; KF8QL EN82; KC9CLM EN52, WB9TFH EN53 and someone else from EN70 — the call I read in the chat was “KB8TEDA” so there’s a bit of typo there, but thanks for the check-in all the same.

Like I said, this has to be the best Wed. in months. Maybe longer. Great activity from every direction; many grids and states on board. Nice going, everyone. Remember both our net controls are always looking to push the propagation limits, so keep spreading the word.

7:30am Tuesday —
Should have made this post yesterday morning. I’ve mentioned the 432.100 Monday evening activity before, but I know people are busy so here’s a fresh post. Put this 432.100 Monday evening activity on your radio calendar. All hams are welcome. Pretty sure it starts at 8pm central time, and since 432 antennas can be pointy, I’d log into the ON4KST.com chat and make yourself known, so someone will point a yagi your way. Or point at N4PZ in EN52gb, about 20-30 miles WSW of Rockford, IL, and wait patiently. When N4PZ looks your way, you *will* know it.
This activity has been going on for several years and N4PZ and the group are always looking for more stations to work.

Here’s the net report from last night, in N4PZ’s own words, as submitted to the KA1ZE daily V/UHF newsletter (Which is published every single morning, and is viewable via the archives at www.ka1ze.com)

I will be at the 2012 EME conference in Cambridge, England next week
so probably W9UIJ or someone else will run the net.

KC9CLM is our newcomer and we made a believer out of him tonight.
He worked N0IRS in Ks City, WB0YWW in en22 and K8JA in en82 with
a single yagi and 20 watts. He needs a brick to get up to 100 watts.
Anyone know of one at a reasonable price please get hold of him at
(kc9bqa inserts a comment — I won’t publish someone’s email without
their say-so. If you have a 100w amp for 432 for KC9CLM, let me know
and I’ll pass the info along to Dave.)
Please step up and lend a hand if you can. I gave him an SWR bridge which
works on 432. He has a good antenna 22 el, I don’t know the brand but it works FB.
He’s enthusiastic!
73,
Steve N4PZ

Posted in Blog Post | Comments Off on While We’re Promoting Other Bands — N4PZ Monday 432.100 Activity Group

Long-time readers here will remember when we were trying to make 222 Tuesday a nationwide deal, both in the USA and adjacent portions of Canada. While that never quite caught on (long-term), there are still regional pockets of 222 Tuesday activity worth pursuing.
Tonight and every Tuesday, for instance, you have 222.100 SSB (CW, too, if you’re so inclined) activity out of MI and OH. Some of the consistent players for years now are N8WNA EN82; K8GDT EN91 and K8TQK EM89. K8MM EN83 also has been getting on. This activity starts about 7pm central/8pm eastern and goes for 2 hours, give or take. If you are within 100-500 miles of any of these stations, get on and make yourself heard. It may help if you use the ON4KST.com chat (IARU Region 2 Room — details are 2 posts below this one, in an Aug. 10, 2012 post) to let the others know you are on 222.100 MHz. I know they would be glad for new voices and to see the activity keep expanding.
Other pockets of 222 Tuesday I keep hearing about… TX area, headed up by W5LUA. Says between 7-8pm. Al also says he and WB5AFY get on 222.100 about 7:30am and take a look around, checking morning conditions.
Plus I hear about renewed 222.100 Tuesday interest out of Central FL, starting about 7pm local time.
Also the Rocky Mountain VHF Group has a Tuesday net at 8pm mountain time, centered on DN70/DM78.
The RMVHF has active nets on multiple bands, on different nights. This is out of the Denver area, with reach well into surrounding states. Visit http://www.rmvhf.org/wordpress/ In fact, that Rocky Mountain VHF website is well worth spending some time at. Looks freshly updated, too.

6:45am Tuesday
We’ll have our regular net controls tomorrow night.
K8TQK on 144.252 (yes .252) at 0030Z, or 8:30pm eastern. Bob’s QTH is EM89je, which is south-central OH. Bob starts out calling CQ to his north, then steadily moves clockwise a full 360 over the next hour or so.
We also have WB9LYH on 144.240 at 0100Z, or 8pm central. Mark’s QTH is EN54cl, right in the middle of WI. Mark also starts out calling CQ to his north/northeast, then steadily moves clockwise a full 360 over the next hour or so.
All licensed amateurs are welcome. The nets are informal; the purpose is to stir up more activity on less-used portions of 2m SSB. Newer stations — you are welcome to listen along and say hello when you’re ready. A big part of why we run these nets is to give newcomers (and veterans) guaranteed activity, to ensure they hear signals coming out of their rig.
The rest of you are encouraged to expand on this guaranteed activity by calling some CQ’s of your own on Wed. night, or any other time. 20-40 stations listening for a net control for a few minutes per week is a good start. But think if those 20-40 stations, in different states and grid squares, would spread up and down the band, calling CQ in various directions. That’s the biggest thing weak-signal VHF needs — more signals on the air.

Both K8TQK and WB9LYH have big stations. Long (horizontally-polarized) yagis well above the horizon, with lots of gain, plus plenty of output power and great QTH’s. You don’t need all that to have fun on “weak-signal” (SSB/CW) VHF, but yes, it does help. The point is both our net controls enjoy pushing the propagation limits and they appreciate DX check-ins. Even if you’re 400, 500, 600 miles away, give a listen and see if the band is up. We encourage everyone to spread the word about activity on 2m SSB, and we thank those who have helped us.